The first off-shore drilling company in the Gulf of Mexico to declare bankruptcy has blamed the government-imposed standstill for a shortage of shallow-water permits following the summer’s massive oil spill. Texas-based Seahawk Drilling, the second-largest shallow-water driller operating in the Gulf, announced it had filed for bankruptcy Friday and would be selling its remaining assets to Hercules Offshore.

Bryan Preston has been a leading conservative blogger and opinionator since founding his first blog in 2001. Bryan is a military veteran, worked for NASA, was a founding blogger and producer at Hot Air, was producer of the Laura Ingraham Show and, most recently before joining PJM, was Communications Director of the Republican Party of Texas.